Tag Archives: turf

Josh Palubicki, the Chief Media Officer for Brock USA – “America’s leading manufacturer of shock pads for artificial turf fields,” recently played up his company’s product in an article labeled “Sponsored Content” in Athletics Business.

“Shock pads have been protecting athletes for over a decade and recently have become a key element in the majority of new-build field specifications, according to historical bid data,” wrote Palubicki.

“Shock pad adoption has steadily grown as research continues to shed light on the correlation between sports turf and concussions. One in five concussions occur from the head hitting the playing surface, stated a report by the Concussion Legacy Foundation. A study done for the NFL in 2015 found the playing surface was the primary cause of concussions in 24 percent of the cases from that season. Of course, shock pads only affect injury rates on artificial turf and concussions still occur on natural grass, so why would the NFL get behind shock pads? The answer lies in a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that found injury rates are higher on third-generation artificial turf fields (turf-over-stone, rubber/sand infill) versus natural grass fields.”

The answer appears to be yes,according to a Central Ohio televisiin station.

In a report, the station profiled a promising high school football player, Tommy Horn, who attributed the severity of his injury to artificial turf.

“He had a bruised spinal cord, two broken bones in his back and a severe concussion,” reported the station. “Horn believes he suffered these severe injuries because he was being tackled on turf, not grass.”

The article went on to heighten the importance of the GMAX test,which tracks the hardness of the field, which may have been a factor in Horn’s case.

“If this opens the eyes of other high schools and prevents student athletes from getting hurt then pursuing their dreams, then I’m glad I can help and be the poster child of this injury unfortunately,” he said.